UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 12/07/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
Two disparate works by two members of LPD. Given the difference of these two works, it is possible to see some of the sources of the unfathomable depth that is Pink Dots musick.
Niels Van Hoorn aka: Niels Van Hoornblower, joined the Dots in 1988. He plays saxophones, flute, bass flute, clarinets, gadgets that need to be blown. He likes to wear loud, eccentric suits & uses light beam with his sax for a walk in the crowd.
Someone from LPD once remarked that when Niels made a solo recording, it would be the most abstract or 'avant-garde' thing to come out of the band. That's quite a challenge. So he created De Klaverland Klompen Voetbal Club (which I will post at a future date). DKKVC was recorded on location in Klaverland 2000. It is dedicated to the Independent State of Klaverland & its national sport, Klompen Voetball, in which the players wear 'klompen' or wooden shoes, using two small balls, one for the players & one for their dogs. There are no goals & no rules. DKKVC is to say the least extreme.
More accessible & showing more of his love of jazz, blues, & soul is 2002s Colours.
Tracklist -
Landscape
Indian Dakota
Space Horns
Desert Walk
Traffic Jam
Grand Canyon
Heritage part 1 & 2
Mist
Mellow
Strange Dream
Klaverland Sunset Jam (for a small taste of Klaverland)
All song by Niels van Hoorn except "Indian Dakota" & "Mellow" by NvH & Ryan Moore.
Niels plays: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, & dubbel saxophones; bass clarinet; flute; Steiner wind synth; Arp2600 & Cat synths; & Boomerang loops.
Ryan Moore plays: drums; congas; Kurzwell K-200; & Moogerfoogers. He does: production; tape editing; & engineering.
Mastered by Raymond Steeg.
Ryan Moore played drums on studio & live performances for the Legendary Pink Dots throughout most of the 1990s. He departed to work on his own musical project, the Twilight Circus Dub Sound System, a reggae/dub band. He wrote & produced albums for Grammy Award winning singer Michael Rose of Black Uhuru. He has worked with other notable reggae figures such as Sly Dunbar, half of one of the most influential partnerships in reggae music, Sly & Robbie.
Martijn De Kleer joined the Dots in 1991. He plays guitars, fuzz bass, banjo, violon, exotic percussion, gadgets, string driven things-plucked, bowed, & processed. Pure, psychedelic, & rustic. He still loves Hank Williams. He recorded Flow at home with two microphones & a tape deck. If Van Hoorn was the abstract side, then this is the mellow side of the Dots coin. Mighty lucre it is.
Tracklist -
Beginning
Once a Road
Moon in Water
Birds
High Street
Sin
Invitation
Sunflower
Not Blind?
Daydream
Reflection
End
Martijn: vocals; acoustic guitar; fiddle; banjo; & hand drum. Mastered & additional sounds from Raymond Steeg.
Raymond Steeg joined the Dots in 1992. He does the mixing & is the engineering master. Works the sound, vibrations, gadgets, & more gadgets. Demands a perfect sound because anything less pisses him off.
Enjoy,
NØ
31 March 2009
19 March 2009
More More Dots Dots
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 12/07/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
Individual LPD releases are so indicative of the bands mind-set or line-up of that particular time/space, encapsulating that unique moment so well, that their live offerings seem to better span the bands true genius, giving a better overview of their true excellence. Plus they seem to respond best to the vibe of the live audience.
Legendary Pink Dots began their live career in a local folk club in Ilford, where they resided at the time in a squat. They only played a few live appearances at folk clubs & a Anti-Nuclear Power CND festival. Their first 'real' gig was in Cologne in 1983, where they headlined a show in front of more than 400 people. Their next 'official' show was at the Melkweg (Milky Way) Club in Amsterdam in 1984.
In a setting reeking of marijuana smoke, Ka-Spel roamed the stage, draped in a torn flag, smashing an ironing board against the concrete pillars & stomping a synthesizer beneath his feet. Pandemonium reigned & the crowd love it. LPD was such a hit that for the next ten years they played the Milky Way every year.
Farewell, Milky Way was recorded in 1994. There is a nice blend of songs here from "A Crack in Melancholy Time" to "Space Captain". Edward & the band gel perfectly, bringing forth an array of sinister tunes that represent the essence of the group to date. Although the version of "9 Shades to the Circle" strays from the Nine Lives to Wonder original, it includes some great improvised lyrics & very haunting percussion effects. "Demolition 13" chills with its bitter edged bite of captivating words & changing melodies. The original version of "Needles" appears here as well, eerily coming & going, fading into a quiet, awesome & completely awe-inspiring extended version of "Space Captain".
The line-up: Edward Ka-Spel - keyboards & voice; The Silverman - keyboards; Martijn de Kleer - guitar & drums; Ryan Moore - bass & drums; Niels Van Hoornblower - horns; Raymond Steeg - sound wizardry.
This is one of my favorite live LPD sets.
Tracklist -
A Crack in Melancholy Time
On Another Shore
Vigil-Anti
Love in a Plain Brown Envelope
9 Shades to the Circle
Demolition 13
Bella D
Needles
Space Captain (extended version)
Enjoy,
NØ
Individual LPD releases are so indicative of the bands mind-set or line-up of that particular time/space, encapsulating that unique moment so well, that their live offerings seem to better span the bands true genius, giving a better overview of their true excellence. Plus they seem to respond best to the vibe of the live audience.Legendary Pink Dots began their live career in a local folk club in Ilford, where they resided at the time in a squat. They only played a few live appearances at folk clubs & a Anti-Nuclear Power CND festival. Their first 'real' gig was in Cologne in 1983, where they headlined a show in front of more than 400 people. Their next 'official' show was at the Melkweg (Milky Way) Club in Amsterdam in 1984.
In a setting reeking of marijuana smoke, Ka-Spel roamed the stage, draped in a torn flag, smashing an ironing board against the concrete pillars & stomping a synthesizer beneath his feet. Pandemonium reigned & the crowd love it. LPD was such a hit that for the next ten years they played the Milky Way every year.
Farewell, Milky Way was recorded in 1994. There is a nice blend of songs here from "A Crack in Melancholy Time" to "Space Captain". Edward & the band gel perfectly, bringing forth an array of sinister tunes that represent the essence of the group to date. Although the version of "9 Shades to the Circle" strays from the Nine Lives to Wonder original, it includes some great improvised lyrics & very haunting percussion effects. "Demolition 13" chills with its bitter edged bite of captivating words & changing melodies. The original version of "Needles" appears here as well, eerily coming & going, fading into a quiet, awesome & completely awe-inspiring extended version of "Space Captain".
The line-up: Edward Ka-Spel - keyboards & voice; The Silverman - keyboards; Martijn de Kleer - guitar & drums; Ryan Moore - bass & drums; Niels Van Hoornblower - horns; Raymond Steeg - sound wizardry.
This is one of my favorite live LPD sets.
Tracklist -
A Crack in Melancholy Time
On Another Shore
Vigil-Anti
Love in a Plain Brown Envelope
9 Shades to the Circle
Demolition 13
Bella D
Needles
Space Captain (extended version)
Enjoy,
NØ
12 March 2009
More Pink Dots
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 12/07/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
"I think something must be wrong with me. I keep seeing Pink Dots."
"Have you seen a Doctor?"
"No, just Dots."
Because I was reminiscing about seeing LPD live, I posted their Live at... first, but I should really go back to the early days now. Most of their earlier material (Curses, Brighter Now, Basilisk,etc. which originally appeared in cassette format) have been re-released on cds. The earliest vinyl I have of LPD is Stone Circles (A Legendary Pink Dots Anthology) from 1987 put out on Play It Again Sam Records here in the U.S. It contains cuts from the above mentioned cassette releases as well as from other mid-80s fare (Lovers, The Tower, Asylum) plus a previously unreleased song "Gladiators Version Apocalypse" recorded in July 1987. This is a great starting point for the uninitiated as well as a treat for Dots fans.
Legendary Pink Dots - Stone Circles (A Legendary Pink Dots Anthology),
Play It Again Sam Records BIUS 1001, 1987.
decryption code in comments
Side One -
Love Puppets
Curious Guy
Black Zone
Hanging Gardens
Side Two -
Golden Dawn
Fifteen Flies in the Marmalade
Our Lady in Darkness
Gladiators Version Apocalypse
note - the last two minutes of "Hanging Gardens" is recorded backward, so I have included as a bonus track that section reversed or backward unmasked.
Enjoy,
NØ
"I think something must be wrong with me. I keep seeing Pink Dots."
"Have you seen a Doctor?"
"No, just Dots."
Because I was reminiscing about seeing LPD live, I posted their Live at... first, but I should really go back to the early days now. Most of their earlier material (Curses, Brighter Now, Basilisk,etc. which originally appeared in cassette format) have been re-released on cds. The earliest vinyl I have of LPD is Stone Circles (A Legendary Pink Dots Anthology) from 1987 put out on Play It Again Sam Records here in the U.S. It contains cuts from the above mentioned cassette releases as well as from other mid-80s fare (Lovers, The Tower, Asylum) plus a previously unreleased song "Gladiators Version Apocalypse" recorded in July 1987. This is a great starting point for the uninitiated as well as a treat for Dots fans.
Legendary Pink Dots - Stone Circles (A Legendary Pink Dots Anthology),Play It Again Sam Records BIUS 1001, 1987.
decryption code in comments
Side One -
Love Puppets
Curious Guy
Black Zone
Hanging Gardens
Side Two -
Golden Dawn
Fifteen Flies in the Marmalade
Our Lady in Darkness
Gladiators Version Apocalypse
note - the last two minutes of "Hanging Gardens" is recorded backward, so I have included as a bonus track that section reversed or backward unmasked.
Enjoy,
NØ
08 March 2009
I've Been Trapped in My Own Musick Mania
After the first of the year, I would visit other blogs around the interweb & read their suggested lists of the Best of 2008. & I'd be scratching my head, wondering what the fuck? Granted, I don't listen to all that much neu musick since the plethora of great musick from the past fills my time, ears, shelves & hard-drive. That being said, tho, I do listen to neu musick when I get suggestions from those whose opinions I give more than a grain o' salts worth of import. I try to be open to the possibility that not all neu musick & bands are shit. I hear others playing musick & if it catches my ear, I try to check it out enough to find out if it has any staying power or originality. But the Best Of... lists had bands like Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, etc. ad infinitum (my friend Jon called them ' Tivo on the Radio, MiGGT, the Feet Floxes, & Vampire Wackness '). I've seen these bands myself & they are across the board CRAP!
I was thinking about what bands I would put on a Best of 2008 list, thinking of more inspired picks from more trusted sources, but Microcastle seemed to have gone limp, the Walkmen needed new batteries, Receivers' Parts & Labor was 50/50, & Duke Spirit's Neptune was all right, but hardly god-like. They wouldn't even make the Top Ten cut.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds' Dig Lazarus Dig was excellent, The Mars Volta's Bedlam in Goliath was obviously in the running, even Alejandro Escovedo's Real Animal beat out those other losers, but Best???
I thought about what neu releases I listened to most, affected me the greatest, pleased me the best. I got down to two that were also by two of my favorite hard-working, long-striving musickians & bands.
Steven Stapleton has been entertaining me with Nurse With Wound since 1978, & thirty years later he's still in the top two. Huffin' Rag Blues was a strange listen at first, but all NWW releases are a strange listen. The more I listened to Huffin', though, the deeper into it I sank, until finally I realized it is right up there with the best NWW stuff. At this sorry state of neu musick, I'll huff that rag anyday.
The musick that moved me the most was also from a band that started just two years after Nurse With Wound, whose frontman is also a genius madman. Edward - Ka-Spel & The Legendary Pink Dots have always been entertaining, thought-provoking, & unparalleled in excellence. I have more of their releases than any other single band (they are nothin' if not prolific...with LPD material, Edward's solo work, projects such as Silverman [keyboardist original member Phil Knight aka the Silver Man's solo releases], the Tear Garden with cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy).
Hotel Blanc - Edward Ka-Spel Down in the City of Heartbreak & Needles 1995
Serpent Time - Silverman Dream Cell 1995
Sheila Liked the Rodeo - The Tear Garden Sheila Liked the Rodeo 1993
15th Shade - cEvin Key w/Edward Ka-Spel & Genesis P'Orridge The Ghost of Each Room 2001
2008s Plutonium Blonde is the album I listen to most often, with the most enjoyment, yet I didn't see them on any Best Of... lists. I wonder to myself just what's wrong with musick aficionados today?
LPD played two shows at the Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco on November 14 & 15,2008 in support of Plutonium Blonde. I went to the Saturday show (11/15 - their last US date of the tour). It was a phenomenal show, the CDN being a great place to see shows. Before the show the band was hanging out front with everyone, very kool. The set was excellent, the band as whimsical as their musick, & there were two encores.
Syd Barrett, T-Rex, David Bowie, Throbbing Gristle, the Residents, Kurt Weill among others are name-checked when referencing Ka-Spel & LPD, but any of these comparisons are just for descriptive clarification. There is no imitation with LPD, they are one-of-a-kind originals. Plutonium Blonde sounds fresh & fertile, each song manifesting & evolving into an archetypical musickal experience.
This is where my musick mania kicked in full force. I gathered up all my LPD & related material & that's all I've been listening to since the beginning of February. We jokingly refer to it as KLPD radio (ALL PINK DOTS---ALL THE TIME!!!) around the Casa Nada. I have a ten cd changer in my Pathfinder & it's constantly filled with an ever changing selection of Dots. My family & friends are beyond the point of utter despair, but I can't stop.
I haven't been able to take this blogging thing serious because all I'm listening to is LPD. All I want to post is LPD. So now my disease is spreading to you. & I don't really care. I'm waiting for a friend who was at the Cafe Du Nord show to send me a boot of the show, but until then, heres a show from almost ten years to the day earlier...
The Legendary Pink Dots - Live at the Metro, Chicago, SPV (Poland) 150122, Nov.11,1998.
Spike
Aarzhklahh Olgevezh
Gang Green 98
Zoo
Saucers over Chicago
Fates Faithful Punchline
Pain Bubbles
Grain Kings 98
Andromeda
line-up: Edward Ka-Spel - voice, keyboards; The silver Man - keyboards;
Edwin Van Trippenhof - guitar, occasional bass; Ryan Moore - drums, occasional bass;
Niels van Hoornblower - horns, flutes; Frank Verschuuren - live sound;
Bert van Nijmeijer - lights; special guest Paul Newman - drums on Aarzhklahh.
Enjoy,
NØ
Steven Stapleton has been entertaining me with Nurse With Wound since 1978, & thirty years later he's still in the top two. Huffin' Rag Blues was a strange listen at first, but all NWW releases are a strange listen. The more I listened to Huffin', though, the deeper into it I sank, until finally I realized it is right up there with the best NWW stuff. At this sorry state of neu musick, I'll huff that rag anyday.
The musick that moved me the most was also from a band that started just two years after Nurse With Wound, whose frontman is also a genius madman. Edward - Ka-Spel & The Legendary Pink Dots have always been entertaining, thought-provoking, & unparalleled in excellence. I have more of their releases than any other single band (they are nothin' if not prolific...with LPD material, Edward's solo work, projects such as Silverman [keyboardist original member Phil Knight aka the Silver Man's solo releases], the Tear Garden with cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy).
Hotel Blanc - Edward Ka-Spel Down in the City of Heartbreak & Needles 1995
Serpent Time - Silverman Dream Cell 1995
Sheila Liked the Rodeo - The Tear Garden Sheila Liked the Rodeo 1993
15th Shade - cEvin Key w/Edward Ka-Spel & Genesis P'Orridge The Ghost of Each Room 2001
2008s Plutonium Blonde is the album I listen to most often, with the most enjoyment, yet I didn't see them on any Best Of... lists. I wonder to myself just what's wrong with musick aficionados today?
LPD played two shows at the Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco on November 14 & 15,2008 in support of Plutonium Blonde. I went to the Saturday show (11/15 - their last US date of the tour). It was a phenomenal show, the CDN being a great place to see shows. Before the show the band was hanging out front with everyone, very kool. The set was excellent, the band as whimsical as their musick, & there were two encores.
Syd Barrett, T-Rex, David Bowie, Throbbing Gristle, the Residents, Kurt Weill among others are name-checked when referencing Ka-Spel & LPD, but any of these comparisons are just for descriptive clarification. There is no imitation with LPD, they are one-of-a-kind originals. Plutonium Blonde sounds fresh & fertile, each song manifesting & evolving into an archetypical musickal experience.
This is where my musick mania kicked in full force. I gathered up all my LPD & related material & that's all I've been listening to since the beginning of February. We jokingly refer to it as KLPD radio (ALL PINK DOTS---ALL THE TIME!!!) around the Casa Nada. I have a ten cd changer in my Pathfinder & it's constantly filled with an ever changing selection of Dots. My family & friends are beyond the point of utter despair, but I can't stop.
I haven't been able to take this blogging thing serious because all I'm listening to is LPD. All I want to post is LPD. So now my disease is spreading to you. & I don't really care. I'm waiting for a friend who was at the Cafe Du Nord show to send me a boot of the show, but until then, heres a show from almost ten years to the day earlier...
The Legendary Pink Dots - Live at the Metro, Chicago, SPV (Poland) 150122, Nov.11,1998.21 February 2009
Oi! of Japan Vol. 2
UPDATE: If you are looking for this post, I posted it on a section called Japan 2.0 08/22/2013. Get it there. Enjoy, NØ
Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Cock Sparrer...always dug their sounds...street punk, working class. Oi Polloi...the common folk. Kinda got out of it when it got associated with the right-wing racist crowd.
The general ideology of the original movement was a rough sort of quasi-socialist working class populism. Lyrical topics included unemployment, workers' rights, harassment by police & other authorities, & oppression by the government.The genre became recognized in the latter part of the 1970s, emerging after the perceived commercialization of punk rock, but still before the soon-to-dominate hardcore punk sound.
In 1980, writing in Sounds, rock journalist Garry Bushell labeled the movement Oi!, taking the name from the garbled "Oi!" that Stinky Turner of Cockney Rejects used to introduce the band's songs.The word Oi is an old Cockney expression, simply meaning hey or hello.
Although Oi! has come to be considered mainly a skinhead-oriented genre, the first Oi! bands were composed mostly of punk rockers & people who fit neither the skinhead nor punk label.Because some fans of Oi! were involved in white nationalist organisations such as the National Front & the British Movement, some histories of rock music dismiss Oi! as racist. Because of its racist connection, the Oi! movement lost momentum in the United Kingdom, but Oi! scenes formed in continental Europe, North America, Asia & other locations.
In Japan, the street punk, skinhead, or Oi! movement is a vital part of the Japanese musick scene. Although Baws is probably the first Japanese Oi! band, Cobra is usually sited for this honor. Cobra is regarded as one of the world’s best Oi! bands, giving influences for South American & European bands as the original wave of Oi! died out. The lack of schism between skinheads & punks, between left-wing & right-wing is one of the reasons why the Japanese skinhead culture is regarded as one of the most organized & prospering in the world. The contemporary Japanese bands stress unity in their works, as well as a disregard for mass cultural acceptance; the desire to remain marginal. According to Cobra (talking about the Japanese scene & the record label that they run): “Some people in the punk movement today have missed the whole idea. Any true punk or skin will tell you that punk has nothing to do with just having fun, or trying to keep up with this year’s fashions. Imitation & aiming for mass acceptance may be OK for fake punk rockers, but they will never be part of real punk. This label supports only true punks & skins.”
This compilation is a bootleg of an AA Records release. All recordings were made between 1986 & 1990 & feature some of the early Japanese Oi! bands.
Various Artists - Oi of Japan, Volume 2, AA Records bootleg JAP 02, 1991??
(note: the tracks are not listed on the album label, only on the back cover. both sides list nine tracks but there are only eight tracks on each side. i have done my best to decide what's up. i have noted the inconsistencies. bootlegging/translation problem? someone shed some light here. first one with the correct info wins a prize of my/their choice.)
Side A:
Mamat's - To Sex to Money 1, 2, Clash
Baseball Furies - Carry on True
Baseball Furies - Don't Go Out of Vogue
Cockney Cocks - Blue
Cockney Cocks - Wasted Time
(the Cockney Cocks tracks appear to be only one track. the lyrics seem to say Blue Time?)
Gruesome - Wind Jammer
Gruesome - Dog & Stag
Real - ??? (something in Japanese)
Index - Dream in Actuality
Side B:
Bugs Bunny - Holy Terror
Wanderers - Don't Look Tomorrow
Wanderers - Here We Go Again
Doccoi - Right & Duty
Doccoi - Cross My Heart
(seems to be the same place on both sides, tracks 4 & 5. appears to be only one track. this time Japanese lyrics give me no clue. near the end is an instumental break then a repeated chorus that might be 'Cross My Heart'. can anyone translate the lyrics & let me know?)
Baws - We Are the Baws
Shuffle - Angel Baby
Cockney Cocks - Empty Heart
Cockney Cocks - Don't Say Any More
Enjoy,
NØ
Angelic Upstarts, Cockney Rejects, Cock Sparrer...always dug their sounds...street punk, working class. Oi Polloi...the common folk. Kinda got out of it when it got associated with the right-wing racist crowd.
The general ideology of the original movement was a rough sort of quasi-socialist working class populism. Lyrical topics included unemployment, workers' rights, harassment by police & other authorities, & oppression by the government.The genre became recognized in the latter part of the 1970s, emerging after the perceived commercialization of punk rock, but still before the soon-to-dominate hardcore punk sound.
In 1980, writing in Sounds, rock journalist Garry Bushell labeled the movement Oi!, taking the name from the garbled "Oi!" that Stinky Turner of Cockney Rejects used to introduce the band's songs.The word Oi is an old Cockney expression, simply meaning hey or hello.
Although Oi! has come to be considered mainly a skinhead-oriented genre, the first Oi! bands were composed mostly of punk rockers & people who fit neither the skinhead nor punk label.Because some fans of Oi! were involved in white nationalist organisations such as the National Front & the British Movement, some histories of rock music dismiss Oi! as racist. Because of its racist connection, the Oi! movement lost momentum in the United Kingdom, but Oi! scenes formed in continental Europe, North America, Asia & other locations.
In Japan, the street punk, skinhead, or Oi! movement is a vital part of the Japanese musick scene. Although Baws is probably the first Japanese Oi! band, Cobra is usually sited for this honor. Cobra is regarded as one of the world’s best Oi! bands, giving influences for South American & European bands as the original wave of Oi! died out. The lack of schism between skinheads & punks, between left-wing & right-wing is one of the reasons why the Japanese skinhead culture is regarded as one of the most organized & prospering in the world. The contemporary Japanese bands stress unity in their works, as well as a disregard for mass cultural acceptance; the desire to remain marginal. According to Cobra (talking about the Japanese scene & the record label that they run): “Some people in the punk movement today have missed the whole idea. Any true punk or skin will tell you that punk has nothing to do with just having fun, or trying to keep up with this year’s fashions. Imitation & aiming for mass acceptance may be OK for fake punk rockers, but they will never be part of real punk. This label supports only true punks & skins.”
This compilation is a bootleg of an AA Records release. All recordings were made between 1986 & 1990 & feature some of the early Japanese Oi! bands.
Various Artists - Oi of Japan, Volume 2, AA Records bootleg JAP 02, 1991??(note: the tracks are not listed on the album label, only on the back cover. both sides list nine tracks but there are only eight tracks on each side. i have done my best to decide what's up. i have noted the inconsistencies. bootlegging/translation problem? someone shed some light here. first one with the correct info wins a prize of my/their choice.)
Side A:
Mamat's - To Sex to Money 1, 2, Clash
Baseball Furies - Carry on True
Baseball Furies - Don't Go Out of Vogue
Cockney Cocks - Blue
Cockney Cocks - Wasted Time
(the Cockney Cocks tracks appear to be only one track. the lyrics seem to say Blue Time?)
Gruesome - Wind Jammer
Gruesome - Dog & Stag
Real - ??? (something in Japanese)
Index - Dream in Actuality
Side B:
Bugs Bunny - Holy Terror
Wanderers - Don't Look Tomorrow
Wanderers - Here We Go Again
Doccoi - Right & Duty
Doccoi - Cross My Heart
(seems to be the same place on both sides, tracks 4 & 5. appears to be only one track. this time Japanese lyrics give me no clue. near the end is an instumental break then a repeated chorus that might be 'Cross My Heart'. can anyone translate the lyrics & let me know?)
Baws - We Are the Baws
Shuffle - Angel Baby
Cockney Cocks - Empty Heart
Cockney Cocks - Don't Say Any More
Enjoy,
NØ
17 February 2009
Drunk with Funk
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 09/07/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
The Brainiacs were a rarity, a No Wave band from L.A. (maybe they were punk/funk, I'm not very good with the whole labeling/genre thing). They were an integral part of the L.A. punk scene of the late 70s/early 80s.
Frontman Wayzata Camerone was an L.A. musician who played sax & sang for The Brainiacs from 1979-1981. He also ran a notorious afterhours punk club frequented by X, Blasters, Plugx, Go-Go’s, Fear, Weirdos, etc.
photo by Wayzata Camerone
There is a blog administered by executors of his estate that features Wayzata’s rarely seen black-&-white photographs. His photography 'documents a nocturnal world fueled by restless desire'.
The Brainiacs - Drunk with Funk b/w Fashion Duress 12" 45rpm,
Mental Heath Records 004, 1981.
decryption code in comments
Wayzata Camerone - vocals & C melody saxophone; Jeff Freeman - rhythm guitar; John Shourt - lead guitar & keyboards; Scot Boyd - Fender bass & backing vocals; Dave Spafford - bells; & Vito 'Jack' Codini - skins & handguns.
A side: Drunk with Funk
B side: Fashion Duress
Enjoy,
NØ
The Brainiacs were a rarity, a No Wave band from L.A. (maybe they were punk/funk, I'm not very good with the whole labeling/genre thing). They were an integral part of the L.A. punk scene of the late 70s/early 80s.
Young Marquis, The Punks, The Brainiacs, Dell & the Sensations,
Levi & the Rockats - New Masque, February 3, 1979
The Brainiacs, The Spoilers - Club 88, April 26, 1979
The Brainiacs - Club 88, May 22, 1979
The Brainiacs, The Plugz - Club 88, July 6, 1979
The Eyes, Brainiacs, Suburban Lawns - Hong Kong Cafe, July 24, 1979
Suburban Lawns, Brainiacs - Club 88, August 1979
The Vktms, The Brainiacs - Club 88, August 31, 1979
The Brainiacs, Zilch - Hong Kong Cafe, October 30, 1979
Mnemonic Devices, The Brainiacs - Hong Kong Cafe, November 27, 1979
Nervous Gender, Fear, The Brainiacs - Anti Club, December 6, 1979
The Clones, Subhumans, The Brainiacs - Hong Kong Cafe, December 20, 1979
Levi & the Rockats - New Masque, February 3, 1979
The Brainiacs, The Spoilers - Club 88, April 26, 1979
The Brainiacs - Club 88, May 22, 1979
The Brainiacs, The Plugz - Club 88, July 6, 1979
The Eyes, Brainiacs, Suburban Lawns - Hong Kong Cafe, July 24, 1979
Suburban Lawns, Brainiacs - Club 88, August 1979
The Vktms, The Brainiacs - Club 88, August 31, 1979
The Brainiacs, Zilch - Hong Kong Cafe, October 30, 1979
Mnemonic Devices, The Brainiacs - Hong Kong Cafe, November 27, 1979
Nervous Gender, Fear, The Brainiacs - Anti Club, December 6, 1979
The Clones, Subhumans, The Brainiacs - Hong Kong Cafe, December 20, 1979
Frontman Wayzata Camerone was an L.A. musician who played sax & sang for The Brainiacs from 1979-1981. He also ran a notorious afterhours punk club frequented by X, Blasters, Plugx, Go-Go’s, Fear, Weirdos, etc.
photo by Wayzata Camerone
The Brainiacs - Drunk with Funk b/w Fashion Duress 12" 45rpm,Mental Heath Records 004, 1981.
decryption code in comments
Wayzata Camerone - vocals & C melody saxophone; Jeff Freeman - rhythm guitar; John Shourt - lead guitar & keyboards; Scot Boyd - Fender bass & backing vocals; Dave Spafford - bells; & Vito 'Jack' Codini - skins & handguns.
A side: Drunk with Funk
B side: Fashion Duress
Enjoy,
NØ
14 February 2009
Burns me raw!
something to listen to while you read
The Residents - Mourning the Undead
from The Tune of Two Cities, part two of the Mole trilogy in which the musick of the Moles & the Chubs is compared.
08 February 2009
& Now a Word From Our Sponsors
In Vitro Veritas
something to listen to while you read...
The Meatmen - Jerkin' Off from Toilet Slave, 1994.
05 February 2009
P is a band, not a liquid or a fruit
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 09/02/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
This one has been re-issued by Caroline Records CAR 93398 in 2007, so if you like it, go buy it. The original LP is on wonderfully pee-colored yellow vinyl.
P was a short-lived band formed in early 1993 by Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes - vocals, actor Johnny Depp - guitar & bass, actor Sal Jenco - percussion, & songwriter Bill Carter - guitar & bass. Additional musicians: Ruth Ellsworth Carter - keyboards, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - bass, Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) - guitar, Chuck E. Weiss - washboard, & Andrew Weiss - Mellotron & bass. The band performed their first show at the Austin Music Awards in 1993 & released their eponymous album on November 21, 1995 on Capitol Records. They played the odd gig at The Viper Room, of which Depp used to be co-owner. One of these gigs was played on October 30, 1993, where the lineup included Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Haynes, along with other members of the line-up that night, was a good friend of actor River Phoenix. While the band were in the middle of their song Michael Stipe, which includes the lines "I'm glad I met old Michael Stipe, I didn't get to see his car. Him & River Phoenix were leaving on the road tomorrow" & "but we didn't have a part, not a piece of our heart, not Michael, River Phoenix or Flea or me." Phoenix (unbeknownst to the band at the time) was outside the venue having seizures on the sidewalk. Phoenix died in the early hours of October 31 of heart failure brought on by an overdose of cocaine & heroin.
Although the original idea was that of a Texas roots-rock boogie band, P is everything the Butthole Surfers should be: sick & twisted, dayglo, vulgar, ugly & funny, mean-spirited & self-abusive, out of control & shameless. Gibby is in top form, describing a funhouse ride of vocal hysterics; he even whips out an impressive scrawling noise-guitar solo. Beyond the nearly sincere cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" & a full-frontal clambake (complete with electric sitar) of Daniel Johnston's queasy "I Save Cigarette Butts", the group's own inventions are richly absurd, whether taking friendly pop aim at "Michael Stipe," exploring the depths of dub in "Jon Glenn (Mega Mix)" or wailing out a rugged twelve-bar, "White Man Sings the Blues."
Side 1 -
I Save Cigarette Butts (Daniel Johnston)
Zing Splash
Michael Stipe
Oklahoma
Dancing Queen (ABBA)
Jon Glenn [Mega Mix]
Side 2 -
Mr. Officer
White Man Sings The Blues
Die Anne
Scrapings From Ring
The Deal
Enjoy while you can, it may not last...
NØ
This one has been re-issued by Caroline Records CAR 93398 in 2007, so if you like it, go buy it. The original LP is on wonderfully pee-colored yellow vinyl.
P was a short-lived band formed in early 1993 by Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes - vocals, actor Johnny Depp - guitar & bass, actor Sal Jenco - percussion, & songwriter Bill Carter - guitar & bass. Additional musicians: Ruth Ellsworth Carter - keyboards, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - bass, Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) - guitar, Chuck E. Weiss - washboard, & Andrew Weiss - Mellotron & bass. The band performed their first show at the Austin Music Awards in 1993 & released their eponymous album on November 21, 1995 on Capitol Records. They played the odd gig at The Viper Room, of which Depp used to be co-owner. One of these gigs was played on October 30, 1993, where the lineup included Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Haynes, along with other members of the line-up that night, was a good friend of actor River Phoenix. While the band were in the middle of their song Michael Stipe, which includes the lines "I'm glad I met old Michael Stipe, I didn't get to see his car. Him & River Phoenix were leaving on the road tomorrow" & "but we didn't have a part, not a piece of our heart, not Michael, River Phoenix or Flea or me." Phoenix (unbeknownst to the band at the time) was outside the venue having seizures on the sidewalk. Phoenix died in the early hours of October 31 of heart failure brought on by an overdose of cocaine & heroin.
Although the original idea was that of a Texas roots-rock boogie band, P is everything the Butthole Surfers should be: sick & twisted, dayglo, vulgar, ugly & funny, mean-spirited & self-abusive, out of control & shameless. Gibby is in top form, describing a funhouse ride of vocal hysterics; he even whips out an impressive scrawling noise-guitar solo. Beyond the nearly sincere cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen" & a full-frontal clambake (complete with electric sitar) of Daniel Johnston's queasy "I Save Cigarette Butts", the group's own inventions are richly absurd, whether taking friendly pop aim at "Michael Stipe," exploring the depths of dub in "Jon Glenn (Mega Mix)" or wailing out a rugged twelve-bar, "White Man Sings the Blues."
Side 1 -Zing Splash
Michael Stipe
Oklahoma
Dancing Queen (ABBA)
Jon Glenn [Mega Mix]
Side 2 -White Man Sings The Blues
Die Anne
Scrapings From Ring
The Deal
Enjoy while you can, it may not last...
NØ
31 January 2009
Celestial, just celestial
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded & more music added
09/12/2013. Enjoy, NØ.
Recently ISKSP posted up Circle X's first release, an untitled four-song EP on Celluloid Records, from 1980. It revealed the talents of raw, manic iconoclasts set on tearing down & reinventing the stuff of rock musick itself with a strong philosophical bent & intense early standards like the relentless "Onward Christian Soldiers" & the blues-tinged terrorism of "Tender." The record’s cover - identifiable only by a spray painted circle with an X through it, a symbol the group chose instead of a name - gratingly reflected its content. "Marketeers" inevitably forced a spelled out "Circle X" on them.
I hadn't listened to the band for many years, but after listening to that first release, I dug out all of their other stuff I have & that's all I've been listening to since then. The band next recorded the equally inventive but more varied Prehistory LP, unreleased until 1983, on the California-based consortium of Enigma & Index Records. Some say this recording served as a crucial blueprint for the subsequent New York noise scene that spawned Sonic Youth, Swans & Live Skull. The LP went out of print rapidly, but was later reissued semi-legally by the French label Sordide Sentimentale with the addition of a booklet of essay texts & skin disorder photos. Mutant Sounds has posted this, in my opinion, the bands finest. (Nothin' Sez...Happily reissued in 2008 by David Grubbs' Blue Chopsticks label.)
When I realized that Celestial was unavailable anywhere that I could find, I decided it was my duty to post it here. If you don't know this band or haven't heard then of late, or were looking for this release, then without further ado...
"The morphology of the song & its text; building blocks words of inaudibility. The word may be dead & its object the text yet the entirety of the project may create a conditional world where the right perception of the song will change the world. After hearing: Liberation; Late in the song like night. The distant sputter & hiss: Man stands as a swan. The list of ingredients which constitute it as a thing:
Part A. Part B. Part C.
Ship's Pulley
Rope - Coiled
Guitar - Detuned
Open, Standard
Measure
Trigger - Envelope
Generator
Korg ----------- Casio
Synthesizer
Bass drum - 2 x 4 - Pony
Clamps - Orange
Temper Metal Rim
Digitech Blue Box
Muff
Boss - Lavender - Box
PA Budapest Station
Mosque Konya
+ ALI
The Egg Shaker
Device Radio Band
Bow
Hammond
Violin
File - Chunka - Loop
Long Squeak
Vacuum
Slam - Splice - Hiss
Traps
Snares
Typewriter
The Body, its Voice
Guided by:
On the cellular level, the equipment's interior construction, the creation of the conditional setting."
Bruce Witsiepe - voice, guitar, & tapes; Tony Pinotti - voice, synthesizer & tapes; Rik Letendre - bass & keyboards; Martin Köb - drums. Violin on "Crow's Ghost" & "They Come Prancing" - Lois Dilivio. All music by Circle X, all lyrics by Bruce Witsiepe except "They Come Prancing" - Lakota traditional courtesy of Bureau of American Ethnology Collection.
Circle X - Celestial, Matador OLE 091-1 , 1994.
decryption codes in comments
decryption codes in comments
Side 1/2 A -
Fig. #1 - Kyoko
Fig. #2 - Pulley
Fig. #3 - Crow's Ghost
Fig. #4 - Gothic Fragment
Side Ø B -
Fig. #5 - Tell My Horse
Fig. #6 - Some Things Don't Grow Back
Fig. #7 - Little Celestial Poet
Fig. #8 - They Came Prancing
Enjoy,
NØ
The band recorded four white-vinyl seven-inch singles for Matador, American Gothic & Lungcast Records that were released over the course of 1992. Titled The Ivory Tower, the records were compiled into a box set & re-released under the auspices of EDITIONS ANTI-UTOPIA in mid-’93. If anyone has these, please post them & let me know. Please!
UPDATE: Moments after I posted this, a friend from Portugal hooked me up with all four of these gems. These four records are stunning from start to finish. Thanks Imbroglio
I was recently asked to post up The Ivory Tower, as it is not really readily available (I saw one advertised for $300 online somewhere). Well, here it is...
Circle X – The Ivory Tower, Editions Anti-Utopia 4 X 7”,
1993.
decryption code in comments
Disc 1 -
1a 33/Puerto Rigan Ghost (after MARS)
1b The Pleasure Gallows
Disc 2 -
2a Compression of the Species
2b Fail Better
Disc 3 -
3a Shiny Blue Orb
3b Crooky Crain
Disc 4 -
4a Some things Don’t Grow Back
4b Champ Pourri
Enjoy,
NØ
24 January 2009
A Call to Arms
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 03/01/14. Enjoy, NØ.
Starting off with local Sacramento band Hoods, its...
Enjoy,
NØ
Starting off with local Sacramento band Hoods, its...
Enjoy,
NØ
21 January 2009
Ain't that America?
Released in 1996, the title track was in response to the Oklahoma City bombings, but seems to be appropriate today, the day after the ousting of the fascist Bush regime. Recorded at Sound Impressions in Portland, Oregon with cover art by famed tattooist Freddy Corbin of Temple Tattoos in Oakland, California.
Knuckleheads - Ain't that America, Ransom Note Recordings RNR 012, 1996.
Enjoy,
NØ
Knuckleheads - Ain't that America, Ransom Note Recordings RNR 012, 1996.
20 January 2009
The Twits
Re-uploaded 5/17/2020 by request...
Next, for all you twits, The Twits...
Darrin Twit - guitar
Nathan Twit - guitar & vocals
Fil Twit - bass & vocals
Cuddlebear Twit - drums
The Twits - The Twits, Dirty Records DR-09, 1999.
Enjoy,
NØ
Next, for all you twits, The Twits...
Darrin Twit - guitarNathan Twit - guitar & vocals
Fil Twit - bass & vocals
Cuddlebear Twit - drums
The Twits - The Twits, Dirty Records DR-09, 1999.Enjoy,
NØ
18 January 2009
Adams Alcoholics
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 02/26/2015. Enjoy, NØ.
Well, its time to circle the wagons. Adams Alcoholics are liquored-up & on the warpath. One of the bands featured on the last post compilation, here's an album from Phoenix' phinest drunx (& they are not using any apostrophes).
Enjoy,
NØ
Well, its time to circle the wagons. Adams Alcoholics are liquored-up & on the warpath. One of the bands featured on the last post compilation, here's an album from Phoenix' phinest drunx (& they are not using any apostrophes).
Enjoy,
NØ
17 January 2009
Denver vs. Phoenix
Next up is a battle of the bands pitting seven Denver bands against seven local Phoenix faves. Listen up, & you be the judge.
Various Artists - Denver vs. Phoenix, Dirty Records DR-06, 1998.
Denver Side:
Pinhead Circus - Asking for a Beating
8 Bucks Experiment - American Blue
The Gamits - Don't Take Much
The Family Men - Signals
Substitutes - Beneath the Wheel
Uphollow - Sparkle Eyes
Phoenix Side:
Mandingo - Alcohol
Subject Mad - SMIII
Adams Alcoholics - Lifes Blood
Dirty Laundry - Lucky Dog
Aggression Session - Bee
Pragmatics - Edmuns Fault
Plinko - Picture Perfect
Enjoy,
NØ
Various Artists - Denver vs. Phoenix, Dirty Records DR-06, 1998.
Denver Side:
Pinhead Circus - Asking for a Beating
8 Bucks Experiment - American Blue
The Gamits - Don't Take Much
The Family Men - Signals
Substitutes - Beneath the Wheel
Uphollow - Sparkle Eyes
Phoenix Side:
Mandingo - Alcohol
Subject Mad - SMIII
Adams Alcoholics - Lifes Blood
Dirty Laundry - Lucky Dog
Aggression Session - Bee
Pragmatics - Edmuns Fault
Plinko - Picture Perfect
Enjoy,
NØ
15 January 2009
The Assmen
UPDATE: This post was re-uploaded 02/26/2015. Enjoy, NØ
I first got hooked-up with Dirty Mike & Dirty Records out of Glendale, Arizona when I was doing EAT POOP! 'zine. A band from my old stomping-grounds in northwestern Pennsylvania called The Assmen sent me their latest, Enema Nation. It was on Dirty Records. From that point on, I got some great musick from some great bands from Dirty Mike. I'm gonna post up some of my favorites (this is punk-as-fuck shit, so get ready for the moshpit, crusties). It's only right that I start at the beginning.
Enjoy,
NØ
I first got hooked-up with Dirty Mike & Dirty Records out of Glendale, Arizona when I was doing EAT POOP! 'zine. A band from my old stomping-grounds in northwestern Pennsylvania called The Assmen sent me their latest, Enema Nation. It was on Dirty Records. From that point on, I got some great musick from some great bands from Dirty Mike. I'm gonna post up some of my favorites (this is punk-as-fuck shit, so get ready for the moshpit, crusties). It's only right that I start at the beginning.
Enjoy,
NØ
14 January 2009
Chameleon Fetish
Re-upped 7/23/2022.
Chameleon Fetish was a bondage, punk, & piercing place in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They put out a compilation of mostly local bands (Michigan, Illinois, & Iowa).
Various Artists - Chameleon Fetish presents:P.F.W. Volume I, Chameleon Fetish 110, 1996.
What Have You Done at All Lately?
Hard
Mary St. Massacre
C.R.S.4 (Captive Rock Star)[Short Attention Span mix] - CRS (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Thee Duma - Iowa City, Iowa
Silence is Rhythm Bound
Prayer for the Sick & Stupid - Thee Duma (Iowa City, Iowa)
Friction
Dive - HAL (Ferndale, Michigan)
I Fall Down
The Fish Song - Salt Chunk Mary (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Winner
Used to Be a Fence - The Deterants (Ypsilanti, Michigan)
Liberate the Minnows
Tired
Obituary - Blue Onion (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Plastic Man
Jimmy - Nadsat Nation (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Commitment
Ant Dance - The MIBs (Peoria, Illinois)
Mengele USA
Bury Freud - Mt. Tai (Detroit, Michigan)
Enjoy,
NØ
Clean Up this F@@king Mess
I'd forgotten about this until friend Jon was looking for it. I sent it to him, then I forgot again. Now I remembered again.
[from Wiki]
The Mops were formed in 1966 by a group of high schoolers: Mikiharu Suzuki (drums), Taro Miyuki (guitar), Masaru Hoshi (guitar), & Kaoru Murakami (bass). They began as an instrumental rock group similar to The Ventures, but soon after forming, Mikiharu Suzuki's brother Hiromitsu joined on lead vocals. The group began to play psychedelic rock at the suggestion of their manager, who had brought home recordings of American hippie groups such as Jefferson Airplane from his trip to San Francisco. The group signed to JVC Records, the Japanese wing of Victor Records, and released a single in November 1967 called "Asamade Matenai", which hit #38 on the Japanese charts. In April 1968, the full-length debut, Psychedelic Sounds in Japan, followed; the album included covers of "White Rabbit" & "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane, as well as songs by The Doors & The Animals. They received much press for being the 'first psychedelic band' in Japan, & performed with elaborate light shows.
The Mops - Psychedelic Sounds in Japan, RCA Victor Japan SJV-356, 1968
Side A:
Asamade Matenai (Can't Wait 'til Morning)
San Franciscan Nights
I am Just a Mops
Inside Looking Out
The Letter
Somebody to Love
Bera yo Isoge (Hurry Up Vera)
Side B:
White Rabbit
Asahi yo Saraba (Goodbye Morning Sun)
Light My Fire
Kienai Omoi (Unforgettable Memory anthem)
All of You
I Can't Get Hot
Blind Bird (Please Kill Me)
Enjoy,
NØ
[from Wiki]
The Mops were formed in 1966 by a group of high schoolers: Mikiharu Suzuki (drums), Taro Miyuki (guitar), Masaru Hoshi (guitar), & Kaoru Murakami (bass). They began as an instrumental rock group similar to The Ventures, but soon after forming, Mikiharu Suzuki's brother Hiromitsu joined on lead vocals. The group began to play psychedelic rock at the suggestion of their manager, who had brought home recordings of American hippie groups such as Jefferson Airplane from his trip to San Francisco. The group signed to JVC Records, the Japanese wing of Victor Records, and released a single in November 1967 called "Asamade Matenai", which hit #38 on the Japanese charts. In April 1968, the full-length debut, Psychedelic Sounds in Japan, followed; the album included covers of "White Rabbit" & "Somebody to Love" by Jefferson Airplane, as well as songs by The Doors & The Animals. They received much press for being the 'first psychedelic band' in Japan, & performed with elaborate light shows.
The Mops - Psychedelic Sounds in Japan, RCA Victor Japan SJV-356, 1968
11 January 2009
Just like hot Velveeta
Here's some smooth cheese. One hit blunders. Try the first track for their faux reggae splash, or the last track for bargain basement Queen of the Meatloaf poo-poo platter. This is what you deserve, boyos.
Chris Kay - lead vocals & guitars; Sky - bass; Guy McKeague - drums. Special guests Michael Dawson - lead vocals on "Never Wanna Go"; Ricci Accardi - drums on "Smoke Two Joints".
The Toyes - Smoke Two Joints ep 45, Ginger Coffeee Records PK 85003, 1983.
Side A:
Smoke Two Joints
Eddie's Theme
Side B:
Listen to the Radio
Never Wanna Go
Enjoy,
NØ
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